MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank said on Wednesday it stores gold and cash foreign currency reserves inside Russia, while its yuan assets are held in China, mainly in the form of government securities.
In Russia, where the dollar was king for years following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the yuan has become a major player, with its share in Russia's import settlements jumping to 23% from 4% last year.
In an annual report, the central bank said it had been accelerating investments in assets that cannot be blocked by states it calls "unfriendly" - those that have imposed sanctions against Russia - since 2014.
Some Western sanctions were imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv demands that Moscow hand Crimea back.
The bank named the safer assets as Chinese yuan, gold and foreign currency in cash which can be imported from abroad, although limited by logistics capabilities.
"This safety cushion was created as a form of alternative reserves - less liquid and convenient in normal life, but more reliable in the face of a severe geopolitical scenario," the bank said. (Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow, Editing by William Maclean and Mark Trevelan)
